Daily Reading & Meditation

Wednesday (May 27): "Are you able to drink the cup that
I drink?"

Scripture:Mark 10:32-45

32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus
was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who
followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to
tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, "Behold, we are
going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the
chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death,
and deliver him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock him, and
spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days
he will rise." 35 And James and John, the sons of Zeb'edee, came
forward to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for
us whatever we ask of you." 36 And he said to them, "What do you
want me to do for you?" 37 And they said to him, "Grant us to sit,
one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." 38
But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are
you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the
baptism with which I am baptized?" 39 And they said to him, "We
are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will
drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be
baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine
to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." 41
And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and
John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know
that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over
them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it
shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you
must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must
be slave of all. 45 For the Son of man also came not to be served
but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Meditation: Was Jesus a pessimist or a stark realist? On
three different occasions the Gospels record that Jesus predicted
he would endure great suffering through betrayal, rejection, and
the punishment of a cruel death. The Jews resorted to stoning and
the Romans to crucifixion - the most painful and humiliating death
they could devise for criminals they wanted to eliminate. No
wonder the apostles were greatly distressed at such a prediction!
If Jesus their Master were put to death, then they would likely
receive the same treatment by their enemies.

Jesus called himself the “Son of Man” because this was a common
Jewish title for the Messiah. Why must the Messiah be
rejected and killed? Did not God promise that his Anointed One
would deliver his people from their oppression and establish a
kingdom of peace and justice? The prophet Isaiah had foretold that
it was God’s will that the “Suffering Servant” make atonement for
sins through his suffering and death (Isaiah 53:5-12). Jesus paid
the price for our redemption with his blood. Slavery to sin is to
want the wrong things and to be in bondage to destructive desires.
The ransom Jesus paid sets us free from the worst tyranny possible
- the tyranny of sin and the fear of death. Jesus' victory did not
end with death but triumphed over the tomb. Jesus defeated the
powers of death through his resurrection. Do you want the greatest
freedom possible, the freedom to live as God truly meant us to
live as his sons and daughters?

Jesus did the unthinkable! He wedded authority with selfless
service and with loving sacrifice. Authority without sacrificial
love is brutish and self-serving. Jesus also used stark language
to explain what kind of sacrifice he had in mind. His disciples
must drink his cup if they expect to reign with him in his
kingdom. The cup he had in mind was a bitter one involving
crucifixion. What kind of cup does the Lord have in mind for us?
For some disciples such a cup entails physical suffering and the
painful struggle of martyrdom. But for many, it entails the long
routine of the Christian life, with all its daily sacrifices,
disappointments, set-backs, struggles, and temptations.

A follower of Jesus must be ready to lay down his or her life in
martyrdom and be ready to lay it down each and every day in the
little and big sacrifices required. An early church father summed
up Jesus' teaching with the expression: to serve is to reign
with Christ. We share in God's reign by laying down our
lives in humble service as Jesus did for our sake. Are you willing
to lay down your life and to serve others as Jesus did?

"Lord Jesus, your death brought life and freedom. Make me a
servant of your love, that I may seek to serve rather than be
served."

Psalm 147:12-15,19-20

12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise
your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your sons
within you.
14 He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of
the wheat.
15 He sends forth his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.
19 He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and ordinances to
Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know
his ordinances. Praise the LORD!

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The way to
glory and honor, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430
A.D.

"Ponder how profound this is. They were conferring with him about
glory. He intended to precede loftiness with humility and, only
through humility, to ready the way for loftiness itself. For, of
course, even those disciples who wanted to sit, the one on his
right, the other on his left, were looking to glory (Matthew
20:20-23; Mark 10:35-40). They were on the lookout, but
did not see by what way. In order that they might come to their
homeland in due order, the Lord called them back to the narrow
way. For the homeland is on high and the way to it is lowly. The
homeland is life in Christ; the way is dying with Christ (Matthew
6:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17-33). The way is suffering with
Christ; the goal is abiding with him eternally. Why do you seek
the homeland if you are not seeking the way to it?" (excerpt
from TRACTATE ON JOHN 28.5.2.13)

Scripture quotations from Common Bible:
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright
1973, and Ignatius Edition of the Revised Standard
Version of the Bible, copyright 2006, by the
Division of Christian Education of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ in the United
States of America. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. Citation references for quotes from
the writings of the early church fathers can be
found here.

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